Director Neil Jordan’s vampire drama Byzantium is finally getting a Canadian release this weekend. The melancholy film stars Saoirse Ronan (The Host) as Eleanor, a vampire (although that word is never used) tired of living on the run with Clara (Gemma Arterton, St. Trinians). The DLB had the chance to speak to Ronan during last year’s Toronto International Film Festival during a roundtable with the young Irish star.

Much like the founding father himself, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is as honest a title as any movie has ever had. Indeed, if you give yourself up to its sheer ridiculousness then you’ll have a great time in the theatre. If you are especially fond of the laws of physics or decide to tsk-tsk the assorted clunkers that litter Seth Grahame-Smith’s script – which he adapted from his own book – then you’ll likely shake your head in disbelief and wonder how many Duplass Brothers films the budget could have covered. To you I say fuck off.

The DLB spoke with actress Chloe Moretz recently in conjunction with the home video release of Hugo, her collaboration with Martin Scorsese. Of course we just had to ask about her role in Dark Shadows. Director Tim Burton’s much-anticipated movie version of the ’60s soap opera casts frequent Burton collaborator Johnny Depp as the cursed vampire Barnabas Collins, a role originated by recently deceased Canadian actor Jonathan Frid. Moretz plays Carolyn, the sullen teen daughter of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, played by Michelle Pfeiffer.

What was it like working with Tim Burton?

Working with Tim was such an experience. I don’t even know what to say because he’s probably been my dream, dream, dream director, along with Scorsese of course, to work with.

My mom and my brother didn’t actually tell me because they had called in and they had said that they wanted me for the movie, and of course my mom and my brother didn’t tell me in case it didn’t go through or something, and if it feel through I would be so devastated.

So they didn’t tell me, but after the deal went through my brother and I had landed in New York to do a photoshoot, I think, or something. And we had just landed, got off the plane, and [Moretz’s brother] Trevor received an email from my mom saying the deal’s gone through, oh my gosh, we’re so excited. It’s happening. Of course he turns to me as we’re docking the plane, and he goes, ‘So Chlo, what we were going to tell you is you’ve booked a Tim Burton film for Dark Shadows and it films in three months, and I was like ‘What!?’ I just started freaking out on the plane, and everyone was like ‘what is wrong with that girl?’ And I was like freaking out, like ‘oh my Gosh!’ And I freaked out so much that I actually left my iPad on the plane. It was a pretty special thing.

I’m in love with Tim and I’m in love with Johnny and Helena [Bonham Carter] and Michelle Pfeiffer and everyone. It’s a really special, special movie.

The DLB recently spoke to actor Scott Speedman (Underworld, upcoming The Moth Diaries) about his new romantic comedy The Vow and snuck in a couple of questions about his recent genre past and future.

Tell me about working with director Mary Harron (American Psycho) on the upcoming vampire film The Moth Diaries.

Yeah, very smart woman. Very, very talented director, obviously. That’s really why I wanted to do that thing. I got on that movie five years ago, I think. Yeah, I was just jumping at the chance to work with her because I’ve loved her movies in the past.

Underworld: Awakening opens in theatres today, so as a release day treat, here is part two the Dark Lord Bunnykins’ chat with lead actress Kate Beckinsale:

Regarding Selene, what is about her that you like and does she serve any particular function for you as an actress, like getting out your aggression for instance?

No, not really. I do think I’m attracted to female roles that are kind of empowering and interesting and complicated, in whatever kind of movie, whether it’s a comedy… I think it’s important to have those criteria to make it interesting for yourself, or drama or whatever. It just happens to be in a genre movie. But that genre tends to also be one of the few that really does celebrate an empowered woman. So it’s not necessarily something that I want to only do, and I wouldn’t only want to do a comedy for the rest of my life either, but the fact that I get to play these kind of women I think is very attractive.

The DLB recently spoke to Underworld Evolution star Kate Beckinsale about the fourth entry in the ongoing werewolf/vampire franchise. Here are a few excerpts:

After you made Underworld Evolution, how did you feel about the possibility of making another Underworld film, and at what point did playing Selene again start to seem like a good idea?

Well, I didn’t think I was going to. I was told that the plan was to do a trilogy. I knew that the third one was a prequel and my character wasn’t around for that. I honestly didn’t think about it at all apart from occasionally when I was promoting another movie somebody would ask me about it, and I’d constantly say, ‘No, no, no. That’s it,’ because I thought it was! So it was only a little before we shot the movie that they came and asked, ‘Would you think about it?’ And I thought, well, okay, but it would have to be quite a different journey for the character to go on to make it interesting for people to watch and also to play the part.

Sex toy company Fleshlight is getting into the Halloween spirit with the release of their Fleshlight Freaks series. Available in five different models — The Cyborg, The Alien, The Drac,The Frankenstein and The Zombie — the Fleshlights and Fleshjacks are certain to raise your spirits this holiday season.